So this is my very first chapter on this wonderful website and I hope it's good enough. I want feedback, either negative or positive from people so dont be shy! I'm doing this to improve my writing so I'll take the good and the bad. There's some strong language on Gokudera's part in later chapters so I'm giving you a little warning of it now ^ ^

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Katekyo Hitman Reborn, otherwise they'd all be doing some pretty shonen-ai things :D

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 1- Gokudera Hayato

The office room was strangely organised and tidy, not a single strand of hair out of place, a clear sign that the owner was meticulous and liked everything to be just so. The crimson walls were adorned with large antique bookcases holding hundreds of varying books, the well worn spine of each one hinting that they had been read countless times. A large billboard on the right hand side wall was plastered with an array of paper, seemingly data of some kind, held in place accurately and tidily by small skull shaped pins. The walls were covered with knowledge, whilst in the back of the room, a curtained window in it's shadow, stood a desk holding a small table lamp, a red laptop, a vast amount of paper and a silver picture frame containing images of a fond past.

Gokudera Hayato sat eleganty behind his desk, his posture prim and proper and his blue-grey eyes glued to one of the many reports handed to him by his men. His eyes skittered quickly over the page, and then stopped abruptly. He clicked his tongue, obviously annoyed, and adjusted his glasses which had fallen slightly down his fine nose. A grammatical error had immediately grasped his attention. In fact, the custom report was littered with them, one falling after another. One he could tolerate, but thirteen was simply unacceptable. The reports were to be concise and proper at all times...at least that was what he expected from the men. Most times it looked as though the men had not even grasped even the basic vocabulary of Japanese and Italian. It irked him. Being the right hand man of the tenth generation Vongola boss had taken a sufficient toll on Gokudera's personality. As a teenager he had been rash and reckless in almost every manner. But in five years he had changed. He was more serious than he had ever been, the responsibilities he had taken on as the right hand man meant he had to be. He didnt regret of course. As long as he was useful to the tenth boss he cared little for what he had to turn into, besides, he could think more rationally than before. He was an ever attacking, never resting but more reliable storm guardian. Still impulsive maybe, but he could think at three times the speed he used to...maybe it was all due to the passage of years, but at some point he had realised that it was necessary of him to mature. For the sake of his family.

The problem however lay in how dedicated to his work he was...

Gokudera stopped shuffling through the papers on his desk and momentarily closed his eyes. He found solace in the darkness, but knew that sooner or later he'd have to reopen them...after all, sleep was never far behind whenever he closed his beautiful green eyes these days. His workload had drastically increased in the last few weeks. There was talk of a suspected union among the enemy families, and those kind of rumours prompted a lot of investigative work. While Tsunayoshi Sawada was busy elsewhere, all of the paperwork had heaped onto his desk...and Gokudera had dutifully taken care of it. Requests from the Varia and such had to be dealt with as soon as possible...or Xanxus would have kicked up a momentous fuss. Gokudera found that as soon as he had finished one stack of paper, two more would always appear, resulting in exhaustion on his part. He had barely had any sleep, and it looked as if it were to be the same the following week. Just thinking about sleep caused a huge yawn to escape unrestrained from his pressed his fingers against his weary eyes, eager to get rid of the temptation of sleep, and jumped in his chair when he heard a deep voice echo from the doorway.

"I'd say that was a 10 on the yawn richter scale. I could practically feel the sleepiness from here."

Gokudera forced his eyes open and inched his head to look toward the door. Leaning against the doorframe, arms folded loosely, ever the picture of relaxation, was Yamamoto Takeshi. Scruffy hair, unruly suit, nonchalant attitude...it was him alright. As irritating as ever. They had known each other for about five years, and Gokudera accepted that they were comrades...and friends, but the man still annoyed him as much as the day they just met.

"What," Gokudera growled, the irritation almost too clear in his voice. As ever this only resulted in the other man grinning. Although it was more of an arrogant grin these days, not like the innocent one he always had all those years ago. Gokudera wasnt the only one in the family who had changed, but after all they had been through in five years it was to be expected.

"It was because your yawn was so loud."

Gokudera's silver brow twitched...after all this time Yamamoto was still playing the idiot.

"I meant what do you want...idiota".

Gokudera could feel his anger rising, a further sign of his weariness. He had learned to contain his anger, but this man could bring it out with ease each and every time, without fail.

Yamamoto continued to smile and eventually pushed himself off the doorframe, closing the open door with a foot. He strode casually into the room, as if he owned the place. Gokudera tried to hide his frustration as Yamamoto practically threw himself on HIS expensive couch and flicked through HIS book. He turned his attention back to his work as a distraction. The silence stretched out for a few minutes, broken occassionaly by the scratching of his pen, the sound of typing or the turning of a page from the book Yamamoto was leafing through. Eventually Yamamoto felt the need to break the imposed silence.

"Tsuna and Lambo are worried about you. And so am I..."

Gokudera didnt raise his head from his work but replied shortly.

"There's nothing to worry about".

Yamamoto sighed and placed the book down on the coffee table. He had known it wasnt going to be simple. Gokudera was as stubborn as he was hardworking.

" Hayato, you're exhausted. We can all tell. You've practically been falling asleep on your feet this past week. I mean we know you're dedicated and all but you're clearly pushing yourself too hard. Take a break. At least for a while. Please".

Gokudera could hear the concern in Yamamoto's voice. After all, even after five years Yamamoto rarely called him by his first name. Gokudera felt a slight twinge of guilt. He was making the tenth boss worry, and Lambo too.

He raised his eyes from the papers on his desk and turned to face Yamamoto. He cringed inwardly when he saw the look on the other man's usually cheerful face. A worried expression. Above all Gokudera hated to make his friends worry. He brushed his slender fingers through his soft hair and gave a loud sigh.

"Ok fine. I get it. If I'm making the Boss and the kid worry...

He rose slowly from his seat, breifly noting that his legs had gone slightly numb because of how long he had been seated at his desk, and strode towards the couch. He stopped in front of Yamamoto and gave him an irritated look as the Japanese man didnt catch the hint...or at least pretended not to. Yamamoto simply sat there looking puzzled. Gokudera groaned.

"Move it would you, moron. I'm taking a nap."

"When I said you needed some rest, I meant in your room...then again why dont you just rest on my lap?" Yamamoto joked with a widening grin. Yamamoto was surprised when a slight flush appeared on Gokudera's face. A huge contrast to how his face was usually so pale.

"Fuck off idiot. Stop talking bullshit and just move out of the way. Irritating bastard."

Yamamoto was pleased to hear the normal Gokudera, in comparison to the reserved man he had started to turn into. He had of course grown completely accustomed to Gokudera's foul language over the years. He pushed himself off the couch and sat down on Gokudera's desk chair. He watched Gokudera lay himself down on the couch and gave a slight sigh of relief. Of course he knew that bringing up Tsuna and Lambo would do the trick. Hayato was as loyal to Tsuna as ever, maybe more so, and had grown close to Lambo suddenly about a year and a half ago, however unexpected that may have seemed. His excuse for his sudden attachment to the young thunder guardian was that Lambo "isnt nearly as annoying as he used to be. So I can tolerate him now". Yamamoto had maintained though that Gokudera had always been close to the child, like how he had defended Lambo from Levi's attack five years ago. Gokudera had quite childishly denied it of course. He was a top rate tsundere that was for sure.

Within minutes of lying down on the couch Gokudera had fallen asleep. Breathing softly, his face completely relaxed, worry free for the first time in weeks. The years had fallen off Hayato as soon as he had fallen asleep, his brows had unfurrowed and he actually looked twenty again, as he should.

Yamamoto was once again astounded by how long Gokudera's lashes were as they brushed against his skin, and how fair he was, even though he had lived in Japan for five years. He had to resist the urge to brush his fingers against Gokudera's fine hair. But he could practically feel the softness from where he was sitting. A slight gust of wind from the open window distracted him from his strange line of thought, and he surpressed a shiver as the cold wind brushed up against him. He rose quietly from the chair and walked over to the window. He closed it gently. The last thing Gokudera needed was a cold on top of his exhaustion. Yamamoto saw him shiver and took his jacket off, ready to place it on top of the sleeping man.

Suddenly, a siren sounded from the distance, a momentous piercing shriek.